Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s share price dropped 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $532.57 and last traded at $532.82. Approximately 285,976 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,466,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $536.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $522.32 and its 200-day moving average is $487.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $488.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.